PAX Centurion - January / February 2014

www.bppa.org PAX CENTURION • January/February 2014 • Page 13 Notes from all over – Points to ponder By James Carnell, Pax Editor Upcoming Promotional Exam A s many of you know, the BPD has announced a “new and improved” exam which will be offered for promotional opportunities in June of this year. And as you will see, only 40% of the exam will consist of the written mark, 20% of the mark will be derived from training and experience, and the other remaining 40% will come from a subjective interview. It is during this subjective interview that undesirable candidates who are not politically favored will be eliminated, regardless of their mark on the written test. Call me a cynic, study as hard as you want, spend lots of money on test- prep materials, knock yourselves out, etc. etc. But when the time rolls around for any actual promotions, don’t say I didn’t tell you. The BPD has already announced through many different sources what this exam is designed to do and who they want promoted. Many years ago, during the regime of former-PC Mickey Roache, they invented the same process. (The more things change, the more they remain the same ….) The subjective interview portion (known derisively back then as “Mickey-Points”) doomed many a good candidate who had scored near-perfect on the written part of the exam. Some officers who had aced the written exam suddenly found out they had “failed” the interview process, and earned only a handful of points, while other officers who had barely passed the written exam were (Sur- prise! Surprise!) awarded almost all of the points from their amazing verbal interview. (Geez, I wonder how that works????) See if history doesn’t repeat itself… “Arrogance” defined (Merriam-Webster Dictionary) …noun … “An insulting way of think- ing or behaving that comes from believing you are better, smarter or more important than other people”…“an attitude of superiority manifested in an overbearing manner or presumptuous claims or assumptions…” G eez, let me see if this fits the bill: Boston Globe , Wed., Jan 15 th , 2014 Page B-4, Maria Cramer quoting MAMLEO President Larry Ellison in an article entitled “Diversity hailed in Boston Police shake-up”: “ Ellison said he was concerned no one in the administration had called anyone at his organization about the new appointments or sought his counsel …. Ahmmm, the last time I checked, nobody in the administration of the police department had “sought the counsel” of elected union bargaining units such as the BPPA, the BPDBS, the BPSOF, nevermind social/fraternal organi- zations ( of which MAMLEO is one ) like the Emerald Society (Irish officers), Italian-American Officers Association, Jade Society (Asian Officers), Shomrim Society (Jewish officers), et al, before making command-staff appointments. MAMLEO and its officers do not need to be “consulted” by management before making appointments; that is the PC’s prerogative and an inherent management right. We may not – or we may - like various appointments that Commissioner Evans has made. But we at the BPPA would never be so arrogant as to believe that the PC has to “consult” with us before he invokes his inherent rights as PC to appoint his own command staff….. One thing that DOES irk us at Headquarters though is…. W hen I travel to Schroeder Plaza on business, I invariably see little twenty and thirty-somethings prancing around the building with badges on their civvies and holding the proverbial, requisite piece of paper in their hands so they look like they’re doing something. I know I’m not getting younger, but please….if they’ve been out of the academy for more than a few years, that might be a generous stretch on my behalf. Headquarters assignments were, historically, always reserved for officers who were veterans, older, or injured, heading towards the waning years of their careers. Now, we have the ridiculous situation where 50 and 55 year-old officers are answering radio calls while politically-connected darlings cavort through headquarters cementing relationships to last throughout their fledgling careers. Get out in the street and answer some radio calls. Leave the headquarters jobs to senior veteran of- ficers. Not that it matters, but…. H ow many times have you been sent on a radio call to BHA/ federal/state/subsidized apartments where you know ev- erybody is living on section 8, EBT cards, SNAP benefits, free medical, etc., etc. and seen wall-mounted, flat-screen TV’s in the living room or bedrooms? I was recently in an apartment in Charles- town’s Bunker Hill Development with THREE of them. (I thought you were supposed to be “poor” if you lived in subsidized housing?) Every apartment also seems to have satellite dishes hanging out the windows. I recall being in one apartment a few years ago in the Ori- ent Heights project in East Boston where the apartment had been out- fitted with brand-new, top-of-the-line, “BOSCH” brand appliances. Meanwhile, at my house, we’re re-using disposable coffee cups and plastic plates in an effort to save money and haven’t seen a new TV in years. Ever wonder why taxpayers rightfully get upset? I see it right in front of me every time I get a call to a subsidized apartment. And Governor Patrick, that’s not “anecdotal”… that’s the truth. Do more with less???? O ur new command staff recently visited some of the district stations to tell the lowly patrolmen that we had to “Do more with less” due to upcoming budget cuts, since we had just received a raise. How magnanimous of them! And what is it that our command staff did to secure a raise for the lowly patrol force? (If I recall correctly, it was the BPPA that fought a 3½-year battle to se- cure a pay-raise, unsupported by any member of the command staff.) Would this be the same command staff who will throw us under the bus in a heartbeat if controversy raises its head or media criticism should arise? Do more tickets and tags, AKA: the largest causes of internal affairs complaints?Ahhhmmm, right……And who will GPS be directed against, without a doubt? It won’t be tracking the com- mand staff’s unmarked cars as they head down toYarmouthport or up to New Hampshire on Friday mornings in July, I can tell you that much…